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NoMdeL E. A. LEIGH.

r Maohine' for Separating Vegetable Fiber. No. 237,394; Patented Feb. 8,1881.

By his/1H 5.,

N.PETERS. FHOYQMTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D

. UNITED STATES PATENT Uriica .ERNEST A. LEIGH, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING VEGETABLE FIBER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 237,394, dated February 8, 1881.

Application filed November 13, 1880 (No model.)

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST A. LEIGH, of the city and county. of -San Francisco, in the State of California, have made and invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Separating Vegetable Fiber; andI do herebydeclare thatthe followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the said invention and the manner in which the same is em ployed and operated, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has reference to machinery for treating the stalks of ramie, jute, and other fibrous plants tobreak and separate the woody stock from the fiber.

It relates, first, to an improved mechanism for breaking up and reducing thewood of the stalk without injuring the fiber, by which these two parts of the plant are disintegrated and brought into a condition for ready and per-, feet separation and, secondly, it relates to an improved means, combined with the breaking mechanism, for separating and removing from the fiber the broken wood, whereby the fiber issues from the machine in a free and uninjured condition. A

The several parts constituting my improvements are clearly described herein and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the principal parts of my improved machine or apparatus, showing the arrangement of the crushing and breaking belts or surfaces and their driving-rolls and the separating mechanism. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of the driving-rolls and the traveling belt or surfaces. Fig. 3 shows the construction of the belts. Figs. 4: and 5 are details, showing theconstruction of the separating-rolls.

The firstpartof my improvement provides for breaking up and reducing the wood of the stalk without injury to the fiber.

It consistsyin arranging within a suitable supporting-frame a number of rolls, AA, in two horizontal rows or sets, one above the other, to sustain, carry, and give motion to two endlessbelts, B B, of novel construction. Between these two belts, at the front end of the machine, the stalks are introduced and are carried forward around the rolls, over and un-' the upper set and theother one, B, from the der them in succession, to the last set, a a,

where the belts return in opposite directions, one above andthe other below, while the stalks pass outto the separating-rolls, that complete the operation. In constructing this part, by which the breaking is accomplished, I provide in a frame, X, suitable bearings for the journals of two sets of horizontal rolls, A A, which have fluted or grooved surfaces and are placed in two rows parallel and at a distance from each other, the rolls of one set being arranged in line vertically, or nearly so, over the correspondingirolls in the other set, although this arrangement is not material, except as enablin g the rolls to be placed more compactly and to require less room in the frame, because it is not essential that the belts should run in a vertical position from one roll to the other.

The belts B B have a corrugated surface upon both sides, one to receive and act upon the stalks and the other surface to fit into and engage with the fluted surface of the rolls; and to construct the belts I arrange anumber of round metal rods or bars, 12, parallel and close together, and I connect them together at both ends by means of links,.jointed couplings, or connections of suitable kind to give the proper pliability and form an endless belt or apron that will run and bend freely around the rolls. The faces of the rolls are grooved longitudinally from end to end to receive and engage with the rods or corrugated surface of the belts and produce a regular and positive movement of the belts through the machine, and as the rolls A A are driven simultaneously together by means of gearing, chainbelts, or othersuitable mechanism, the motion of these belts iscontinuous and uniform. The inner'surfaces of the two belts run together against each other and receive between them the; stalks. to be treated, and in arranging them I carry 0H6.b61l3,sB, from the first roll of corresponding roll of the lower set downward and forward around the second lower roll, and thence together upward" and around the second upper roll, and thence downward and around the third lower roll, and so on in this manner to the last two rolls, a 61/,W116I6 the belts pass around and separate and return one above and the other below to the first rolls. This arrangement is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The belts are maintained at a suitable degree of tension to act upon the stalks, and this is controlled and adjusted by means of movable tension-rolls O O, which are mounted in adjustable bearings, so that they can be set to or from the main rollsA A a greater or less distance.

In connection with this breaking mechanism I provide for crushing and feeding the stalks into the belts by arranging in front of the rolls A A the smooth-face rollsD D, havin g the required adj ustability to control the degree of pressure upon the stalks,and provided with driving mechanism connected with the other rolls of the machine, so'as to obtain uniformity of motion.

It will be seen that the corrugated surfaces of the belts and their serpentine course over and under therolls have an effective crushing and breaking action upon the wood of the stalks as they lie in between the two surfaces, and that no angular edges or abrupt cuttingsurfaces are presented to injure the fiber. The crushing and breaking action is also uniform along the entire length of the stalk, and the ends do not become worn off and the length of the fiber reduced, as is the case where the operation of breaking is performed by corrugated rolls without belts. In the use of such rolls they are generally arranged in pairs, and the stalks run through a number of them, the

, ends of the stalk in entering and leaving the rolls receiving a greater pressure or breaking action than the remaininglength of the stalk, so that at the end of the operation the fiber is badly broken or bruised at each end, and a %arge percentage of the fiber is rendered useess.

By my method of confining the stalks between belts having ridges or corrugations and bending them around rolls, alternately backward and forward, or in opposite directions, instead of running them between such corrugated rolls, I preserve the length of the fiber from one end to the other of the stalk, and effectually reduce the woody stock as well. After the stalks leave the last set of rolls, a, a, they are delivered to the separating-rolls E E, which are either arranged in the same frame, X, or are mounted conveniently thereto, so that the first pair of rolls shall receive the stalks from the rolls a. a. For this purpose the rolls a a are set closer together than the others of the series, A A. The rolls E E complete the operation of removing the wood. They are arranged in pairs, one behind the other, after the usual mode of using corrugated rolls; but they are of such construction that they act upon the stalks without cutting or bruising the fiber, and are therefore a great improvement over rolls of the kind heretofore employed, wherein unyielding corrugations or cogs of wood or metal were used. These rolls are furnished with projecting ribs g, formed of some suitable flexible yielding or partly elastic material, such as rawhide, rubber cloth, or vulcanized rubber, fixed in the surface of the cylinder longitudinally from end to end and projecting radially. after the manner of cogs. The number of these ribs 9 on the rolls can be varied as required, and as found best adapted for the work, and the entire set of the rolls can have a uniform number of such ribs, or some of the sets can be furnished with a greater number than the others of the series. The strips of flexible or yielding material are fixed at regular distances apart around the circumference of the roll by being let into dovetail grooves provided for the purpose, or they are made tapering or wedge shape in form, as shown in Fig. 4, and are secured to the cylinder E or E by means of segmentplates h, laid in between the ribs and secured to the face of the cylinder. The thickest end of each strip 9 is placed against the cylinder, and the edges of the segments h are properly beveled to fit closely in between every two ribs, and thus confine them in place. By this means'the strips can be readily replaced with new ones when they become worn. The projections g of one roll, E, mesh or alternate with those of the other roll, E", after the manner of cogs or corrugations, and the stalks, entering this part of the machine from the'deliveringrolls a a, pass between the several sets of rolls and are discharged at the last pair or set in the form of fiber. By employing flexible cogs or projections for this operation it is impossible' to'injure the fiber by cutting orbruising it, and the ends of the stalk are not worn off 'while the middle portion is being treated.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The herein-described method of treating the stalks of ramie, jute, and similar fibrous plants, the same consistin gin passin gthe stalks into and confining them between endless belts or traveling surfaces having ridges or corrugations and moving together around and over and under rolls or cylinders that sustain and drive the said belts'with a uniform motion together, substantially as set forth, for the purpose of breaking, splitting, or reducing the wood to facilitate separation of the fiber.

2. The combination together of the endless belts or,traveling surfaces B B, having transverse ridges or corrugations on both sides, and the fluted rolls A A, arranged and operated substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination together of the endless ribbed or corrugated belts or traveling surfaces B B, the fluted carrying and driving rolls A A, and the adjustable take-up rolls 0 0, substantiall y as described, for the purpose set forth.

4. A roll or cylinder, E, having longitudinal ribs or radial projections g g, formed of a flexible or yielding and partially elastic substance or material, said ribs or projections being detachably connected to the roll or cylinder independent of each other, substantially" as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The cylinder E, the segment-plates h h, and the wedge-shaped ribs or projections g g, of rawhide, rubber cloth, or similar flexible and yielding substance or material, combined and arranged together substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a machine for treating the stalks of ramie, jute, and similar fibrous plants, the combination and arrangement together of the two sets of fluted rolls A A, the two endless traveling belts B B, having on both sides or surfaces transverse ribs or corrugations, the adjustable take-up rolls 0 O, the feeding-rolls D D, and the discharging-rolls a a, around which the belts pass, separate, and return, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

7 A machine for breaking or reducing and separating the wood from the fiber in the stalks of ramie, jute, and similar fibrous plants, consisting of the feeding-rolls D D, the sets of fluted rolls A A, the ribbed or corrugated endless traveling belts B B, moving around and driven by said fluted rolls, the discharging-rolls a a, around which the belts pass, separate, and return, the adjustable take-up rolls 0 O, and the series or pairs of separating-rolls E E, provided with radial ribs or cogs g g of flexible material or substance, substantially as herein described, constructed, applied, and arranged together as set forth.

Witness my hand and seal.

ERNEST A. LEIGH.

Witnesses:

EDWARD E. OSBORN, WM. F. CLARK. 

